Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense 3…Nf6 4. O-O
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Statistics from Lichess
4,556,918 games: White 53.4% / Draw 5.4% / Black 41.2%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Rio Gambit Accepted | 1,355,3961.4M | |
| Improved Steinitz Defense | 1,159,7171.2M | |
| Beverwijk Variation | 1,135,8861.1M | |
| 399,323399K | ||
| 235,926236K | ||
| 94,23394K | ||
| Fishing Pole Variation | 55,84456K | |
| 46,52747K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 20, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.21 The position is about equal
Best play: 4... Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
The stronger the players, the worse this line does for White: White scores 58% under 1400, 53% at 2200 and up and 53% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 1.9M | |
| 1400–1799 | 3.2M | |
| 1800–2199 | 2.5M | |
| 2200 and up | 385K | |
| Masters, over the board | 18K |
Master games
- Caruana, F. – Carlsen, M.
- Caruana, F. – Carlsen, M.
- Anand, V. – Carlsen, M.
- Carlsen, M. – Kramnik, V.
- Caruana, F. – Carlsen, M.
Rated blitz, rapid and classical Lichess games by rating band, and over-the-board games of players rated 2200+ from the Lichess masters database, updated Sep 26, 2026
Overview
Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense (ECO C65, Open Games) is a variation of the Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O (4 moves).
In 4,556,918 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 53.4%, Black 41.2% and 5.4% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 4…Nxe4, in 30% of those games.
It branches into 4 named variations; the most played are Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Beverwijk Variation and Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Improved Steinitz Defense. In all, 27 named lines continue from it.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to answer 4. O-O
The most played answer, 4…Nxe4 (Rio Gambit Accepted), also scores best for Black: 48.0%, with Black winning 44.2% and White 48.2% of 1.4M games. Of the main answers, 4…a6 scores lowest: 39.1%. Stockfish's first choice is also 4…Nxe4.
Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: Black's wins plus half the draws, in rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500. How to play against other popular openings
Popularity by year
This line has lost ground since 2016: 0.15% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.2% (its peak: 0.23% in 2018).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.2% | 71,748 |
| 2017 | 0.21% | 115,043 |
| 2018 | 0.23% | 177,275 |
| 2019 | 0.21% | 259,139 |
| 2020 | 0.2% | 578,876 |
| 2021 | 0.18% | 716,244 |
| 2022 | 0.18% | 661,491 |
| 2023 | 0.17% | 650,026 |
| 2024 | 0.16% | 582,697 |
| 2025 | 0.15% | 512,636 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.15% | 162,239 |
Share of rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500 (blitz, rapid and classical) that reach this position, by year; 2026: January to April. Which openings are rising and falling
Variations (4)
All 27 named lines that continue from here
No line matches.
- C65 Beverwijk Variation 4 moves
- C65 Fishing Pole Variation 4 moves
- C66 Improved Steinitz Defense 4 moves
- C67 Rio Gambit Accepted 4 moves
- C66 Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Closed Wolf Variation 6 moves
- C66 Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Hedgehog Variation 6 moves
- C67 Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, l'Hermet Variation 5 moves
- C67 Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Rio de Janeiro Variation 5 moves
- C67 Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Rosenthal Variation 5 moves
- C65 Ruy Lopez: Classical Variation, Zukertort Gambit 5 moves
- C66 Ruy Lopez: Closed Berlin Defense, Chigorin Variation 5 moves
- C66 Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Closed Bernstein Variation 7 moves
- C66 Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Closed Showalter Variation 7 moves
- C67 Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Cordel Variation 8 moves
- C67 Berlin Wall Defense 8 moves
- C67 Westerinen Line 7 moves
- C67 Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Minckwitz Variation 6 moves
- C67 Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Pillsbury Variation 9 moves
- C67 Rio de Janeiro Variation 13 moves
- C67 Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Trifunovic Variation 6 moves
- C67 Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Winawer Attack 9 moves
- C67 Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Zukertort Variation 9 moves
- C64 Ruy Lopez: Classical Defense, Benelux Variation 6 moves
- C67 Ruy Lopez: Open Berlin Defense, l'Hermet Variation 6 moves
- C67 Ruy Lopez: Open Berlin Defense, Showalter Variation 6 moves
- C67 Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Berlin Wall 9 moves
- C64 Ruy Lopez: Classical Variation, Modern Main Line 7 moves
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense (C65)”. Lichess data as of 20 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/ruy-lopez-berlin-defense-2